Developed in response to a U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) SBIR request the Army Interpersonal Skills Assessment (AISA) battery consists of five measures designed to evaluate the interpersonal knowledge skills and attributes (KSA) that will be required of Soldiers in the Future Force. As the Army evolves over the coming years Soldiers will be placed in positions that require increasing interaction effectiveness. The goal of the AISA is to gauge the Soldier's aptitude to effectively manage interpersonal interactions and to identify Soldiers who may be well suited for positions where effective interpersonal KSAs may improve performance. In Phase II of this SBIR effort the AISA battery underwent a full development cycle including focus group reviews by senior Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and pilot and field testing with the target population of first term Soldiers. The final activity in the Phase II effort was a concurrent validation where data were collected from 95 Soldiers and their supervisors in an attempt to determine the predictive ability of the AISA battery. The details of the development activities and the results of the validation effort are the subject of this report.

CHAPTER 1: Background and Report Organization - Background - Importance of Identifying and Assessing Interaction KSAs - Overview of Phase I Effort - Identifying Interpersonal KSAs - Research and Critique Measures or Techniques to Assess Interpersonal KSAs - Develop a KSA-by-method measurement plan - Develop Innovative Concepts to Assess the Interpersonal KSAs - The Army Interpersonal Skills Assessment (AISA) Battery - Overview of the AISA Development Process - Pilot Tests - Field Test --- CHAPTER 2: Concurrent Validation Overview --- CHAPTER 3: Performance Rating Scales - Validation Research - Rater Training -Rater Demographics - Analyses of Performance Rating Data Summary and Recommendations ---CHAPTER 4: Written Communications Assessment - Instrument Development and Pilot - Scoring the WCA - Instrument Validation - Results - Summary and Recommendations --- CHAPTER 5: Scenario-Based Interpersonal Skills Evaluation (SBISE) - Instrument Development and Pilot - Final SBISE - SBISE Scoring - Instrument Validation - Results - Summary and Recommendations --- CHAPTER 6: Rational Biodata Inventory - Instrument Development and Pilot - Instrument Validation - Results - Summary and Recommendations --- CHAPTER 7: Semi-Structured Interview - Instrument Development and Pilot - Instrument Validation - Procedure -Results - Summary and Recommendations --- CHAPTER 8: Leaderless Group Discussion (LGD) -Exercises - Instrument Development and Pilot Test - DC Tour Exercise - Community Center -LGD Evaluation Instruments - Instrument Validation - Procedure - Results- Summary and Recommendations - Revisions in the LGD Exercise - Revisions in Rating the Exercise -Application of the LGD Exercises --- CHAPTER 9: Cross-Instrument Analyses - Individual KSA Scores - Adaptability/Flexibility- Conflict Management - Cultural Tolerance - Peer Leadership - Relating to and Supporting Others - Communication Ability - KSA Scores and IPIP Traits - Overall Test Scores --- CHAPTER 10: Conclusions and Recommendations / APPENDICES: Appendix A: Definitions of Interpersonal KSAs --- Appendix B: AISA Software Description. --- B-1 RBI Administration --- B-3 Scenario Based Interpersonal Skills Evaluation (SBISE) Administration --- Written Communications Assessment Administration --- User Instructions.